November 29, 2002
GAME #3: Texas A&M AGGIES (1-1) vs. Louisiana State TIGERS (2-0)
Saturday, Nov. 30, 2002
1:35 p.m. (Central)
Reliant Stadium (21,000 cap.)
Houston, Texas
TELEVISION: Dodge Ram Lone Star Series
Doug Bell, play-by-play
Reid Gettys, commentary
Kandace Krueger, reporter
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 1:15 p.m. (Central)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
The Texas A&M Aggies (1-1) play the Louisiana State Tigers (2-0) for the first time in almost two decades on Saturday in the first game of the 2002 Space City Hoops Classic at Houston's Reliant Stadium (21,000 cap.). Tipoff is set for 1:35 p.m. In addition to the A&M-LSU matchup, the college basketball tripleheader also pits Texas against Seton Hall (4 p.m.) and Baylor against Houston (6:30 p.m.). The A&M game will also mark the debut of the Dodge Ram Lone Star Series, a new television venture that will feature six A&M games this season throughout the state of Texas. A&M is coming off a hard-fought 78-72 loss at Miami (Fla.) on Tuesday, while LSU has been idle since beating South Alabama, 71-62, at home on Sunday. The last time the Aggies and Tigers met in basketball was on Dec. 3, 1983 at the Compaq Center (then The Summit) in Houston, with the Tigers posting a 75-65 victory. The teams also played neutral site games in Houston in 1971-72 (a 73-68 A&M win) and in 1962-63 (a 67-61 A&M victory).
ABOUT THE TIGERS
LSU returns four starters and eight lettermen from last year's team that finished 19-15 overall and placed four in the Southeastern Conference's West Division with a 6-10 mark. The Tigers are led by junior forward Jaime Lloreda (6-9), the 2002 National Junior College Player of the Year, who is averaging 11.0 points and 7.5 rebounds through two games. Senior guard Torris Bright (6-4) is scoring 10.0 points per game while senior Ronald Dupree (6-7), and All-SEC forward, is adding 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. The Tigers opened the season with a 68-24 victory against Nicholls State, followed by a 71-62 win against South Alabama. Both games were at home. The Tigers are allowing just 43.0 points per game while limiting their opponents to just 30.2 percent field goal accuracy and are posting a +20.5 rebound margin.
THE SERIES
LSU leads the series, 12-8 and has won two straight (75-65 in 1983-84 and 88-70 in 1982-83). A&M's last win in the series came in College Station in 1981-82 by a score of 68-63. The teams first met in 1916-17, when they played twice in Baton Rouge (both LSU wins). The teams have met on neutral courts four times, with A&M owning a 3-1 advantage, including a 2-1 mark in games played in Houston.
TEXAS A&M vs. LSU (LSU leads, 12-8) Year Result Site 1983-84 LSU 75, A&M 65 Houston 1982-83 LSU 88, A&M 70 Baton Rouge 1981-82 A&M 68, LSU 63 C. Station 1980-81 LSU 67, A&M 57 Baton Rouge 1971-72 A&M 73, LSU 68 Houston 1962-63 A&M 67, LSU 61 Houston 1955-56 A&M 73, LSU 59 C. Station 1954-55 A&M 58, LSU 47 C. Station LSU 73, A&M 61 Baton Rouge 1953-54 LSU 77, A&M 56 Baton Rouge 1948-49 LSU 58, A&M 55 Baton Rouge 1947-48 A&M 45, LSU 44 Fort Worth 1945-46 LSU 51, A&M 50 Baton Rouge 1941-42 A&M 56, LSU 41 Baton Rouge 1920-21 A&M 49, LSU 19 C. Station LSU 24, A&M 16 C. Station LSU 31, A&M 30 Baton Rouge LSU 30, A&M 28 Baton Rouge 1916-17 LSU 30, A&M 14 Baton Rouge LSU 24, A&M 15 Baton Rouge
THE COACHES
- TEXAS A&M: MELVIN WATKINS (UNC Charlotte '77)
- 40-78, 5th year at A&M
- 82-98, 7th year overall
- 0-0 vs. John Brady
- 0-0 vs. LSU
LSU: JOHN BRADY (Bellhaven '76)
- 83-70, 6th year at LSU
- 172-147, 12th year overall
- 0-0 vs. Melvin Watkins
- 0-0 vs. Texas A&M
TENTATIVE STARTERS
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (1-1) No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG 2 Keith Bean F 6-8 Sr. 9.5 8.0 14 Tomas Ress F 7-0 Jr. 1.0 3.0 21 Antoine Wright G 6-7 Fr. 16.5 7.0 32 Bernard King G 6-5 Sr. 15.0 4.5a 10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-2 Jr. 4.5 4.0a Injury Report: Andy Slocum, back surgery (will not play). LSU TIGERS (2-0) No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG 14 Jaime Lloreda F 6-9 Jr. 11.0 7.5 54 Brad Bridgewater F 6-8 Sr. 8.5 1.5 12 Ronald Dupree F 6-7 Sr. 9.5 6.5 41 Collis Temple III G 6-7 Sr. 6.5 4.5 3 Torris Bright G 6-4 Sr. 10.0 4.0a
WATKINS QUOTEBOARD:
"We had 24 turnovers against a good Miami team on the road on Tuesday and still had a chance to win the game down the stretch. I thought we were able to take some positives from that game despite the loss. We had trouble handling their pressure, but we did some good things defensively. LSU looks like its going to be one of the top teams in the SEC and most people are picking it to be an NCAA Tournament team. They present us with a big challenge but it's one we are looking forward to."
TALE OF THE TAPE (2002-03 STAT COMPARISON) LSU A&M Record 2-0 1-1 Conference 0-0 0-0 Sagarin Rtg. 66 193 RPI -- -- W-L Streak W2 L1 FG Pct. .482 .432 Opp. FG Pct. .302 .390 3-Pt. FG Pct. .286 .342 Opp. 3-Pt. Pct. .308 .359 3-Pt. FG Avg. 5.0 6.5 3-Pt. Att. Avg. 17.5 19.0 FT Pct. .488 .711 Opp. FT Pct. .538 .575 Rebound Avg. 47.5 42.0 Off. Reb. Avg. 17.0 12.5 Reb. Margin +20.5 +3.0 Turnovers Avg. 18.0 19.5 Opp. Turnovers 18.5 18.5 Assists Avg. 15.5 14.0 Blocks Avg. 6.5 1.0 Steals Avg. 9.5 4.5 Scoring Avg. 69.5 71.0 Opp. Scoring 43.0 66.5 Scoring Margin +26.5 +4.5
MIAMI RECAP
MIAMI (AP)- Antoine Wright scored a game-high 25 points for Texas A&M, but missed three shots in the final minute as Miami held on to beat the Aggies, 78-72, on Tuesday. Wright had completed a four-point play with 1:32 remaining to give Texas A&M a 72-71 lead. James Jones hit a jumper, Michael Simmons hit two free throws and Jones made one of two for the Hurricanes (2-0), while Wright misfired on two 3-pointers and a desperation jumper. Jones led Miami with 14 points and four rebounds. Simmons scored just three points, but redeemed himself after fouling Wright on his 3-pointer. Wright converted 6-of-11 3-pointers. With 8:01 remaining, Marcus Watkins hit two free throws to give the Aggies (1-1) a 57-56 lead--their first of the game. The Hurricanes had outscored the Aggies 13-6 in the first 6:12 minutes of the second half to take an 11-point lead. But Texas A&M came right back with an 11-2 run and cut Miami's lead to two. In the first half, Wright, who had just eight points in the Aggies' season opener, exceeded that total with three 3-pointers during a 1:08 span.
TEXAS SOUTHERN RECAP
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Bernard King scored 19 points to lead Texas A&M to a 70-55 victory over Texas Southern on Sunday night. King, playing most of the second half with four fouls, scored 10 points in the final seven minutes to lead Texas A&M to its second straight victory in a season opener. Texas A&M received a boost from its newcomers, who contributed 29 points. Freshman Marcus Watkins, son of A&M coach Melvin Watkins, scored nine points. Texas Southern's RaKim Hollis led all scorers with 20 points and Lionel Willis added 13 points. None of the other 11 Panthers to take the court scored more than five points as Texas Southern shot just 33 percent and committed 20 turnovers in its first game of the season. Texas Southern briefly closed the gap into single digits after Hollis hit his fourth 3-pointer of the second period with just over nine minutes remaining. Seventeen of the senior guard's points came in the second half, including five from outside the arc. But A&M hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 11 minutes and more than 50 percent in the second half to hold off the Tigers.
HAIL THE KING
Senior guard Bernard King, a preseason candidate for Big 12 Player of the Year, scored 19 points in Sunday's opener against Texas Southern and is on track to become the career scoring leader in Big 12 and Texas A&M history. King now has 1,561 points (17.3 average), ranking fifth in Big 12 annals and fourth on the A&M chart. King needs 218 points to pass Vernon Smith (1977-81) as A&M's leader and needs 270 to pass Iowa State's Marcus Fizer (1997-00) as the Big 12 leader. King also has compiled 409 assists and 398 rebounds and is attempting to become only the eighth Division I player to reach 2,000 points, 500 assists and 500 rebounds in a career. King's 409 assists rank 11th all-time in the Big 12 and fourth at A&M. Last season, he was the only player in the country to average at least 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. King is rated as the 21st best NBA prospect in the Class of 2003 by NBADraft.net.
A DIAPER DANDY
Freshman forward Antoine Wright, the consensus pick as the preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year, is also a member of Dick Vitale's prestigious "Diaper Dandies," a list of the nation's top 16 freshmen as selected by the ESPN analyst. Wright was rated as the top shooting guard and the No. 4 overall prospect in the country by ESPN.com last year. Wright, rated as the 10th best NBA prospect in the Class of 2006 by NBA Draft.net, also was a member of the USA Junior World Championship Team last summer. In the first exhibition game against MBC Nicolaev, Wright scored 24 points with eight rebounds. After struggling in the opener against Texas Southern, Wright bounced back with 25 points, making 6-of-11 three-pointers, and eight rebounds at Miami.
ANOTHER WATKINS
Freshman guard Marcus Watkins, son of A&M head coach Melvin Watkins, has quickly made an impact on the Aggies. He scored nine points and added four rebounds in just 13 minutes against Texas Southern, then followed with six against Miami. As a senior last season at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, the younger Watkins earned first-team all-state honors after averaging 31.1 points per game, which included a pair of 50-point efforts. The 6-4 Watkins played post in high school but hopes to make a smooth transition to guard in college, just like his father did more than a quarter century ago at North Carolina Charlotte. Coach Watkins was a prep All-American as a center at Reidsville (N.C.) High School, but became a point guard at UNCC. he started his final two years, leading the 49ers to the NIT finals in 1976 and the NCAA Final Four in 1977, where they lost to eventual champion Marquette.
EARLY RECRUITING
LaKeith Blanks of Laurinburg, N.C., Marlon Pompey of Toronto, Canada, Acie Law IV of Dallas and Justin Loewe of Caldwell signed national letters-of-intent in early November to play college basketball at Texas A&M. "We're very excited about this class," said Watkins. "As we continue to add pieces to the puzzle, this may be our best recruiting class to date. It certainly addresses our immediate needs." Blanks, a 6-5 forward from Laurinburg (N.C.) Prep, is rated as the No. 10 small forward and No. 47 overall prospect by RivalsHoops. Hoop Scoop rates him as the 19th best 5th year prep player in the nation, while ESPN.com rates him No. 70 on its list of the nation's top 100 prospects. Blanks averaged 18.2 points 5.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game as a junior. He also competed at the 2002 adidas ABCD Camp in Las Vegas. In addition to A&M, he was recruited by Maryland, Connecticut, Georgetown, Virginia, Syracuse, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Temple, George Washington, Memphis, Massachusetts and Boston College. Pompey, a 6-8 forward who is attending Winchendon (Mass.) Prep this year, is ranked as the No. 64 prospect nationally by PrepStars and is rated No. 40 among 5th-year prep players by Hoop Scoop. He also was recruited by Texas, Auburn, Syracuse and Alabama-Birmingham. Law, a 6-3 guard from Kimball High School, averaged 17.8 points and 6.0 assists as a junior, leading his team to a 29-7 record and the Class 5A state championship game. Law was named his district's most valuable player and was the only junior named to The Dallas Morning News' All-Area Team. He also was named to the Class 5A All-State Tournament Team and played in the prestigious adidas ABCD Camp last summer in Las Vegas, where recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons rated him among the top 10 guards. In addition to A&M, he was recruited by Oklahoma, SMU and Baylor. Loewe, a 6-5 guard from Caldwell High School, was a second-team Class 3A all-state pick as a junior after averaging 24.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and earning his district's offensive player of the year honors. He is rated the No. 14 prospect in the state by Texas Hoops. Loewe connected on 41 percent last season from three-point range and made 86 percent from the free throw line. He also was recruited by Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Baylor and SMU.
TEXAS A&M'S 2002 EARLY RECRUITING CLASS Name Pos Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown LaKeith Blanks F 6-5 180 Fr. Laurinburg, N.C. Acie Law IV G 6-3 170 Fr. Dallas, Texas Justin Loewe G 6-5 195 Fr. Caldwell, Texas Marlon Pompey F 6-8 210 Fr. Toronto, Canada
MR. BEAN
Senior forward Keith Bean scored 11 points with a career-high 13 rebounds against Miami on Tuesday. Bean had a pair of double doubles last year and had a trio of 12-rebound games.
D?J? VU AGAIN
For the second straight year, injuries decimated the Aggies in 2001-02. Only three players ? forward Nick Anderson, point guard Bradley Jackson and center/forward Keith Bean ? did not miss a game because of injury, although Bean was hampered much of the season by shoulder problems. The 13 scholarship players at the start of the season missed a combined 69 games because of injuries, suspensions or personal reasons. The team's starting point guard was dismissed from the squad at mid-season.
ABOUT SLOCUM
Junior center Andy Slocum, who missed eight Big 12 games last year after suffering a broken left hand against Texas Tech, broke his right hand in a pickup basketball game in the summer. The hand healed, but Slocum then suffered a back injury prior to the start of fall practice. Slocum is expected to return to action by the start of Big 12 Conference play in early January. He missed the entire 2000-01 season after having shoulder surgery. Slocum averaged 8.5 rebounds and 7.3 points in eight Big 12 games last year, including a 22-point, 14-rebound performance at Oklahoma. A&M has not had a player average at least 8.0 rebounds for a full season since Winston Crite in 1985-86 (8.0).
TALENT BUILDS
Coach Melvin Watkins landed three top 25-rated recruiting classes in his first four years at A&M, including last year's class, which was ranked as high as No. 22. Seven members of the 2002-03 Aggies were ranked on at least one national top 100 list out of high school ? Nick Anderson, Keith Bean, Nolan Butterfras, Bernard King, Andy Slocum, Marcus Watkins and Antoine Wright.
GET 'EM STARTED
Six players return in 2002-03 who started at least 65 percent of the games in which they played last season ? senior guard Bernard King (24 starts), junior forward Nick Anderson (24 starts), senior center/forward Keith Bean (22 starts), senior point guard Bradley Jackson (20 starts), junior forward Jesse King (17 starts) and junior center Andy Slocum (15 starts).
BATTLE TESTED
The 2002-03 Aggies include 10 returning lettermen, the most by an A&M team since 1985-86, when the Aggies were SWC co-champions and finished 20-12, the program's last 20-win season. The 1978-79 team also returned 10 lettermen from the previous season and finished 24-9, the second most wins in school history, including a memorable run in which the Aggies defeated Indiana, UNLV, Kentucky and San Francisco on the road. The only time A&M returned more than 10 lettermen was in 1977-78, when coach Shelby Metcalf welcomed back 11 lettermen. Current A&M players have combined for 21 letters.
OLDER & WISER?
The 2002-03 A&M roster boasts 12 upperclassmen (4 seniors, 8 juniors) and just three underclassmen (3 freshmen), the most upperclassmen in the Big 12 this season. The only time an A&M team has had more upperclassmen was in 1974-75, when coach Shelby Metcalf had 13 on his roster. That team finished 20-7, won the SWC title and went to the NCAA Tournament. The only other A&M team to list eight juniors on the roster was the 1964-65 Aggies. If all eight of those players return next season, it would give A&M the largest senior class in the program's history.
AMAZIN' CAJUNS
A&M's starting lineup the last couple of years has been dominated by players from Louisiana. Senior guard Bernard King has started in 80 of his 88 games at A&M, while junior forward Nick Anderson has started in 54 of 61 games and junior center Andy Slocum has started in 28 of 50 games.
GOLD RUSH
Four key members of the 2002-03 Aggies hail from the state of California ? senior center Keith Bean (Fontana), senior point guard Bradley Jackson (Inglewood), junior guard Kevin Turner (Diamond Bar) and freshman forward Antoine Wright (San Bernardino).
COMING BACK
After struggling with his health the last two years, junior forward Tomas Ress continues to add weight and gain strength. Ress missed the 2000-01 season after almost dying because of a severe staph infection. He came back to play in 29 games last season, starting in six, but lacked strength and stamina. His weight dropped to 195 pounds on his 7-foot frame at the height of his illness, but he now tips in at more than 230 pounds. An excellent student, the "Italian Stallion" speaks four languages ? Italian, English, German and Spanish.
RADAR LOVE
Mike "Radar" Ricke is in his 10th year as A&M's basketball trainer and has worked 580 straight games. The last time Ricke missed a game was in the 1982-83 season, when he missed the Marshall Memorial Tournament to attend his graduation ceremony at A&M. Ricke was nicknamed "Radar" as an eighth grader because of his unacnny resemblance to the character of the same name on the old television series M*A*S*H.
WATKINS' GRADUATION RATE
Since becoming Texas A&M's head basketball coach in 1998, Melvin Watkins has posted an enviable graduation rate, with 11 of his 13 players who have completed their eligibility at A&M receiving their degrees (84.6 percent). The two non-graduates are playing professional basketball overseas. Of the seven players who did not remain at A&M, three have graduated and the other four are still in school. Among current players, Brian Brookhart graduated in August and is now in graduate school, while Keith Bean is on track for a May graduation and Bradley Jackson, Tomas Ress and Andy Slocum are expected to graduate next August.